When the Heart Knows and the Mind Wants
by MerlinWolfgangTrades
Summary: "Ford, help!" Ford began to reach out but then hesitated. For a brief moment relief washed over him as he realized this might be an answer. But the anger faded and he realized what he was contemplating, but it was too late. When he reached over it was nothing but air. Dread filled him as he saw Stan fall before a monster zoomed past, slowing Stanley's fall, but ripping his arm off


Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/17570855.

 **Rating** : Teen And Up Audiences

 **Archive Warning** : Graphic Depictions Of Violence

 **Fandom** : Gravity Falls

 **Relationship** : Ford Pines & Stan Pines, Fiddleford H. McGucket & Stan Pines

 **Character** : Stan Pines, Ford Pines, Fiddleford H. McGucket, Hermes, Aphrodite, Apollo

 **Additional Tags:** Stangst, Stan Pines Goes Through The Portal, Stan Pines Loses An Arm, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Magic, Deals, Lots of Angst, Violence, Ford Pines Has Issues, Ford Pines is a Jerk, Ford Pines Needs a Hug, Stan Pines Needs A Hug, Stan Pines Has Issues, Betrayal, Guilt, Guilty Ford Pines, Stan Meets Greek Gods, Greek Gods Help/Interact with Stan Pines

 **Stats** : Published: 2019-01-28 Chapters: 1/? Words: 1475

 **Title** : When the Heart Knows and the Mind Wants by Merlin_Wolfgang_Trades_Hale

 **Summary** :

 _"Ford, help!"_

 _Ford began to reach out but then hesitated. For a brief moment relief washed over him as he realized this might be an answer. But the anger faded and he realized what he was contemplating, but it was too late. When he reached over it was nothing but air. Dread filled him as he saw Stan fall before a monster zoomed past, slowing Stanley's fall, but ripping his arm off for a snack._

Ford does his best to help Stanley not die but his pride still keeps him from giving Stan the forgiveness and acceptance he wants. But Stan doesn't want it anymore. Stan is so broken...so tired...so angry...he's very heartbroken. Such heartache attracts Aphrodite and Stan makes a deal. He'll literally give Aphrodite that powerful devotion of love he had for his brother in exchange for his arm back. Facing Ford and helping him stop Bill is easier if he has two arms and no heart.

* * *

"Ain't ya going in too?" Stan asked the man.

They both watched the mother and son embraced before the door closed. Stan looked back at the man who was looking at the house with a smile. It was happy, but not excited. Content might be the better word.

It turned into an easy going smile as he faced Stan and shook his head, "I'm his father, not his dad."

It was a confusing statement before Stan saw a man through the window embrace the woman and the child. ' _Ah_ ,' Stan thought. "Your kid takes after you in the whole...thief thing?"

The man chuckled and puffed out his chest in pride, "Naturally."

"Not most people would be proud of that," Stan commented.

"I'm not most people. Which is why I'm even here still."

"What does that mean?" Stan asked.

"You saved my boy, Stanley. It means a lot. I couldn't intervene but I'm glad someone did. I'm in your debt."

"Not that it's easy to put a price on a kid...but how much we talkin' here?" Part of him felt bad for actually being ready to take money for saving a kid. But he was more than broke and was in huge debt.

The man smirked, "I work in favors, Stanley. And I owe you one."

"Huh...guess that can come in handy. So, what? You gonna give me your number and it'll work as a 'get out of jail free' card or something? Do you got that kinda power?"

The man barked out a laugh, "The law and I are...well, I'll leave that as a mystery. But I assure you Stan...when the time comes and you need help, I'll get you outta trouble."

Stan shrugged. It was one of the weirdest conversations he's had in a while. Not number one but pretty up there. And then he remembered he never told the guy his name. "Who are you anyway? You never said."

"Name's Hermes. Now if you'll excuse me...I got a message to deliver."

* * *

"You ruined your own life!" Ford yelled at him before he kicked Stan into the side of the control panel, branding the symbol onto his back. Stan screamed and fell to the floor.

"Oh gosh, Stanl-" Ford's panicked cry was cut short as Stan bolted up and shoved Ford as hard as he could. Ignoring the pain on his shoulder he and Ford began to fight again. Whatever flash of guilt Ford felt vanished as Stan pulled the journal away from Ford and began to use it to hit him.

Ford grabbed onto the journal and they were each tugging on it with all of their might. Stan tried to get it again, but Ford tugged really hard and the book slipped from Stan's fingers. Ford fell backward and landed in the gravitational pull around the portal's opening. Stan, still in a rage, lunged at Ford again getting himself pulled into the gravitational pull as well.

"What the hell?" Stan asked, anger leaving him for a moment when he realized he was floating. "Ford, what's going on?"

"Oh no! No, no, no!" Ford was frantic as he tried to swim away and escape the pull.

Stan imitated his brother but the noise and activity of the portal began to speed up and before either brother knew it, a blind light flashed and pulled them through to the other side.

* * *

Ford wakes to find himself in a nightmarish realm. Panic overwhelms him for a moment and he's nearly brought to tears as he realizes what this means. He's failed. In the worst way possible.

Bill could destroy his world.

"Ugh..."

He looks over and sees Stan getting up. Red fills his vision as he lunges at his brother and they continue their fight. Ford grabs Stan by the front of his jacket and glares, "You _idiot_!" He barks out and shakes his twin. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you even realize? Do you even care?"

Once Stan grabs his bearings he grabs Ford's hands and pushes back, glaring back in retaliation. "What I've done? This has nothing to do with me!"

"No- _nothing_? Stanley _everything_ about this is _your_ fault! You ruined my chances to get into my dream school! You threw me off the road to success and happiness and on the way of finding my way back I made a deal with the devil and now our whole universe is in peril! And all because...because...you couldn't grow up! Because you didn't have a future! Because you were never gonna be _half_ as good as me and so you _ruined_ me!"

Stan's lips quivered at the words that came out of his twin's mouth. It wasn't like he's never heard them before...but they were from his father or his teachers. But never Ford.

Not being able to take rejection like this well at all, Stan does the only thing he could. Fight. With tears blurring his vision, he lunges forward, hoping to land a painful punch on Ford's face that would equal the pain in his chest. He missed though, as Ford step aside. Good as well because nothing was as painful as the feelings inside of him right now.

Or so he thought.

Stan's lunge was too strong and with nothing to stop it, he fell forward towards the edge of the asteroid they were fighting on. Stand tirled as he tried to get some balance so he was facing Ford again. Fear etched into his face, he reached out for his brother.

"Ford, help!"

Ford began to reach out but then hesitated. For a brief moment relief washed over him as he realized this might be an answer. But the anger faded and he realized what he was contemplating, but it was too late. When he reached over it was nothing but air. Dread filled him as he saw Stan fall before a monster zoomed past, slowing Stanley's fall, but ripping his arm off for a snack.

"Oh god...what have I done?" Ford muttered in despair.

When he got over his shock he began to make his way down and tried to reach Stan, but the pool of blood that got bigger terrified him. "I'm coming, Lee! Please...please don't..." A sob broke through him, "Stanley!"

As he reached his twin, he also heard the grumble and growling of more approaching monsters. He failed the world, he didn't save his brother, and now he'd die in a nightmare realm.

He barely only touched Stan before there was another blinding light and the feeling of going through the portal happened again. Blinking his vision back in place, he looked around and realized he was back in his basement. The portal was on the fritz but off...maybe it was just a dream?

" ** _AAAAHHHHH_**!"

"Stanley!" Ford cried out before going into survival mode. The amount of blood was horrifying, the panic he felt didn't let him think clearly, so he acted. He grabbed a piece of metal and use an incantation to heat it up the metal to the point where he could cauterize the wound. Stan's screams got louder as it was done and he lost consciousness soon after.

The smell of burning flesh and the guilt made Ford puke.

Ford took a moment to breathe and his head mind wrapped around what he needed to do. The portal seemed closed for the moment, so Stan took precedence. He looked around but even with all the knowledge and equipment he had, Stan needed better and more proper care. He himself wasn't unscathed and he was exhausted. Getting Stan to the hospital would be near to impossible but he couldn't call an ambulance and risk people seeing this.

There was one person left he could call.

 _"F-Ford?"_

"Fiddleford...I need your help."

 _"I...I d-don't think I-"_

"It's not about the portal! My brother... _please_...please just come over!"

 _"...I'll be t-there in twenty m-minutes."_

* * *

 _"_ Holy mother! Ford, what in tarnation happened?!" Fiddleford demanded.

"It's a long story...please, he lost a lot of blood," Ford said lifting the upper half of his brother. While he waited for Fiddleford to arrive he made a make-shift stretcher that'll make it easier for them to carry.

"Why didn't you call 911?" Fiddleford asked as he took the other half and together got Stan onto the stretcher.

"I can't risk people coming in here and seeing this!" Ford insisted.

As much as he knew that Ford had a very valid point, the state that his twin was in made it hard to agree. But he was there now and they couldn't wait any longer. With difficulty and nearly dropping Stan twice, they got him topside and into Fiddleford's truck.

The ride to the hospital was a quiet and very tense ride.

* * *

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